Former 1MDB CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi is pictured at the Kuala Lumpur High Court September 25, 2019. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
Shahrol was testifying as the ninth prosecution witness against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on the 13th day of the latter’s corruption trial involving 1MDB money.The speedy joint-venture deal was concluded just one month from when it was first proposed in an August 28, 2009 letter from PSI CEO Tarek Obaid to Najib.
Sri Ram then asked if Shahrol had received any instructions from Najib not to meet the targeted JV signing date of September 28, to which Shahrol replied: “Absolutely not.” “This is because PSI had fixed the deadline for the transfer of money to obtain shares in the JV company, which is only two days after the signing of the agreement with PSI. This period is very short and all preparations such as the opening of account and also the formation of the company have to be done first,” Shahrol said.
But just before the September 26 meeting started, Low who was speaking on his handphone handed it to 1MDB board chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh, with the latter stating “PM” or prime minister while taking the call. In PSI’s proposed US$2.5 billion JV, 1MDB was to inject US$1b cash to obtain a 40 per cent share, while PSI would hold the remaining 60 per cent share by investing assets with value of US$1.5 billion.
Of the RM4.4 billion, Shahrol said US$1 billion was earmarked for the JV, while noting that 1MDB still had to pay over RM100 million in interest for the RM5 billion bond every six months . After instructing Deutsche Bank to carry out the fund transfers and receiving a query on the RBS Coutts account, Shahrol said he had texted Low who informed him that it belonged to Good Star Limited.
Bakke had also ordered both Shahrol and Tang to recover the US$700 million transferred into Good Star’s account, as it was not placed in a valid JV bank account.
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